Guardian Angel
by antiwicked
Summary: "You're right for once. I am capable of love, but loving you is far too dangerous," Formely known as "And To All, A Good Night". AU; Bookverse; Fiyeraba and Gelphie
1. Chapter 1

**Well hello there! I'm back! After awhile... Well this story came to me during Spanish class when we were studying. Good grades or FanFiction? Hopefully both. Any to the who, I'm hoping this will be a multi-chapter FanFiction, but I'll let you decide. Please let me know how you feel and enjoy!**

The room was warm and bright, illuminated by the glowering coals of the fire in the far corner. Snow fell quietly outside; the summer grass which once grew was now trampled by the white blanket that dominated it. Under the window, on the carpeted floor of the family's living room, a mother and her child sat cross-legged, staring intently at the paper before them.

"Now, now, Liir; you need to keep the color inside these black lines." The hooked-nosed woman pointed a crooked finger at the bold lines of the snow man on the low-quality paper.

The child, called Liir, picked up the brown wax crayon once more and slowly shaded in the snow man's broom. He got distracted by the fire's ember glaze and the point slipped, the color drifting outside of the lines again. Liir's lip quivered, after he realized what had happened, and he looked up nervously into the pointed face of his mother.

"I'm sorry, mama," He whimpered, noticing the apparent disappointment in her cold dark eyes.

"You just can't learn, can you?" She shook her head, a sigh escaping her lips and the black tendrils of her hair hanging as a curtain around her narrow head.

"Elphaba, please, he's four." Her husband stood in the doorway, shucking his coat and draping it over the back of a nearby chair.

"He needs to learn."

"He's trying, Elphaba!"

"Not hard enough!"

Liir let out a cry in response to his parents' argument.

"Come here, love." Fiyero got to his knees and opened his arms to his son.

"Daddy!" The little boy ran to his father, collapsing into his strong arms.

"You baby him too much," scoffed Elphaba with her usual scowling expression planted on her face.

"You don't baby him enough," Fiyero shot back, kissing the top of his child's head with a sigh. He could sense that Liir was getting upset again and Elphaba was just being plain outrageous.

"Then he's your son for the rest of the night." Elphaba informed him, shutting the door with an aggravated huff.

"What's wrong with mama?" Liir questioned of his father, his blue eyes gazing searchingly at Fiyero.

The Arjiki prince sighed, knowing the answer but not quite sure if his son needed to know just yet. "Mama's under a lot of stress, sweetheart. She's tired."

"If mama's tired, she should sleep!" piped up the little boy, clapping his small hands together in victory.

"You inherited your mother's brains, Liir." Fiyero noted, nodding his head. "But yes, she should sleep." There were a couple of silent moments before Liir rushed back to the carpet.

"Color with me, Daddy!" squealed Liir, opening his box of crayons again.

Fiyero slowly got up, stretching his limbs as he got to his feet.

"You're old, Daddy." giggled the boy, putting his hands to his mouth in laughter and delight.

"Am not," grumbled Fiyero, laying on his stomach next to his son. "What are we coloring?"

Liir flipped open his coloring book and proudly showed his father the snow man that he had been coloring before.

"I tried to color in the lines, but it's hard!" complained Liir, crossing his arms in frustration. "Mama kept getting mad at me!"

Fiyero patted his son's head in comfort as he examined the paper. Liir had barely scribbled outside the line. Typical Elphaba, he thought with a snort. The only person in all of Oz that would get upset over something as silly as that.

"It looks great, Liir." Fiyero complemented after a moment or two.

"But Mama doesn't like it!" protested the boy, throwing down his crayons in desperation.

"Don't be so harsh with your things." Fiyero scolded, picking the crayons back up and gently placing them back into the box. "Of course your mama likes it." He picked up the discarded coloring book and fanned through its leafy pages. One dog-eared page caught his eye and he flipped to it. There was an outline of a family that was sitting by the Lurlinemas tree and Fiyero smiled endearingly at the fact that Liir had intricately drawn dark blue diamonds on the father and had colored the mother a light shade of forest green. The little boy had even attempted to give himself blue eyes that were so much like his own.

"Liir, I'll be right back." Fiyero promised, gently tearing the page from its perch in the book. He opened the door to his bedroom and closed it behind him quietly.

"Is Liir in bed?" came Elphaba's calm voice from behind the novel in front of her face.

"He's still coloring but he made something for us," The prince pulled out the page and handed it to her. He made sure to notice the slight happiness that graced her face as her eyes darted back and forth.

"Isn't that sweet?" She murmured, her green fingers curling around the edges of the paper.

"Liir thinks you don't like his coloring," Fiyero informed her, testing the waters with his wife's temper.

"I love it, but he doesn't listen when I try to help him." Elphaba gently laid the drawing on the nightstand next to her.

"Maybe he just wants you to compliment what he's done." Fiyero pointed out.

"But he doesn't want to improve!"

"He's four, Elphie! He doesn't want to improve! He wants you to be happy just having him as he is!" Fiyero's words had definitely hit home for Elphaba and he watched as her narrow head dropped in utter sadness. His words flashed her back to her lonely childhood and her abusive relationship with her father.

_A young Elphaba cringed into the corner of the kitchen, her soft green hands held out in front of her. She vaguely remembered her father screaming at her more as he neared her. _

"_You wicked girl! You demon! Everything that happened: your mother, your sister. It's all your fault!" He shouted at her, grabbing her by the front of her dress and shaking her a bit before throwing her back to the linoleum floor. _

"_I'm sorry, Papa, I'm sorry," whimpered the little girl, cowering at his feet._

_The man aimed a kick at her head before slamming the door behind him as he left her to her own devices. _

"Elphie, Elphaba, snap out of it!"

Her dark eyes fluttered open and she vaguely could feel her husband's strong arms around her.

"It happened again, didn't it?" She nodded in a quick response.

"It's been happening so much. I keep getting these visions. Fiyero, I think they're coming."

And there was a knock at the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**And I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, folks! Performances and Christmas took a lot out of me, but it's finally here. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Liir."

Fiyero leapt from his perch on the mattress and rushed to the door. He slammed it open and Elphaba's hand shot out to catch it before it could hit the wall. The Witch cursed silently as she glared at her imbecile of a husband.

"Daddy, what's happening?" cried the little boy as Elphaba picked him up and pressed the back of his head to keep him silent against her breast. The move had been a tad bit too rough and Liir exclaimed in protest.

"Mama, that hurts!" He shouted at her before she gave him an intimidating glare.

"Quiet, you." Elphaba snapped at him. Liir's mouth shut in response and he said no more.

"Elphaba, get to the kitchen. I'll hold them off." Fiyero picked up a pink-shaded umbrella to the stand that was closest to him.

"An umbrella, Fiyero, Sweet Oz, you are stupid. Some good that'll-"

"Just go!"

Elphaba, irritated by his irked tone, turned towards the kitchen with Liir still silent in her thin arms. Before she could leave, however, Fiyero grabbed her shoulder and looked at her.

"I love you," He whispered, kissing her cheek.

"That's nice," Elphaba answered, her voice disdainful as she silently moved towards the kitchen; Liir starting to tremble from quiet fear.

"Mama, what's goin' on?" whimpered the boy, trying to unlatch his head from the woman's tight grip.

"Nothing, darling, just be quiet." She retorted, placing the boy under the table and tip-toeing to the swinging doors.

The room had grown so silent that Liir could hear his mother's shallow breathing and Elphaba could hear her own heart beating rapidly.

Fiyero neared the door with umbrella in hand and a fear in his heart. He peered out of the small curved window at the top of the front entrance door and was utterly shocked. The prince quickly unlatched the lock and threw the door open.

"Glinda?"

Fiyero almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, but she was here before him, ridiculous dress and all.

"Fifi!" Before he knew it, she launched herself at him, cuddling into his strong chest. Fiyero stumbled backwards, awkwardly shutting the door as he did so.

"Daddy, who is dis?" asked Liir as he ran into the living room, quickly followed by his hesitant mother.

"Elphie?" Glinda pushed Fiyero away and rushed for her best friend, engulfing the taller woman in a tight hug. Elphaba, after a while, forced Glinda away and held her out at arm's length.

"How did you get here?" Elphaba inquired of her, worried that her spells were satisfactory. The house was well-hidden with her spells and the fact that the Ix Forest surrounded them.

"Fiyero invited me!" She squealed as Elphaba sent her husband an aggravating glare. But as the Witch turned around, she could see that Glinda had a hidden depth within her eyes. A longing of some sort.

"Fiyero, watch Liir. We have some important things to catch up on," Elphaba told him coldly, offering her arm to her best friend. Glinda gratefully took it without hesitation, her heart uplifting as she did so. The taller woman took her to the master bedroom and closed the door.

There was an awkward, tangible silence as Glinda sat on the bed and Elphaba stood at the door with her arms crossed, like a hunter stalking her prey.

"So you and Fiyero?" Glinda's seemingly happy mood dissipated and her face turned solemn.

Elphaba nodded as her fingers interlocked, a puzzle of green sticks. "I thought that perhaps you would know. And you, with that Chuffrey fellow.'

'He's nothing, Elphaba. He never has been," the blonde answered quickly, awkwardly twisting the gold wedding band on her thin finger.

"I see." Elphaba nodded slowly, her mouth opening to speak again before Glinda cut her off.

"It's not the same, Elphaba. You know that." The Witch's breath caught in her throat.

"Things are very different," She agreed, "Nothing's the same."

"But you've taken a lover." Elphaba seemed almost amused to watch Glinda's flabbergasted reaction.

"I-well, I-" Glinda seemed dumbfounded and the least bit angry. "You can tell?" Her voice was a ghost of a whisper.

"Your neck. Your husband doesn't seem like a man who would give you such a bite."

"Yes, well… Things are different, Elphie. You said so yourself."

"So I did." Elphaba affirmed, ending the topic.

"Your son is cute," Glinda complimented, absentmindedly picking at the bodice of her dress. She mentally slapped herself. That little boy was the last thing she wanted to hear about.

Elphaba snorted, rolling her eyes. "Fiyero wanted him." That was all that she could say.

"And you didn't?"

"I have no want or a need for a child."

And that was that.

As Glinda stood to leave, in response to the silence of the hook-nosed witch, Elphaba spoke up.

"Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to see you again," answered Glinda, her gaze never leaving the oak door.

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, Elphie. It's just like you said: things have changed." Glinda told her quietly, opening the door as Elphaba nodded in agreement.

"Yes, my dear, they have."


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry that it has taken me such a long time to update. School has been a pain and I haven't had much time to do this. But I hope you enjoy this and please review! Oh and this is not the last chapter, just so you know. I don't want there to be a mix up but I've already gotten messages about it.**

* * *

Glinda had left without another word, her head reeling just from seeing Elphaba again. Those dark eyes always held secrets, secrets that Glinda herself had known a long time ago, at Shiz. Yet, even as she walked in the snow with her head hung low, she knew that the Elphaba Thropp that she had known was gone. There was nothing left of the Elphie that would curl up in bed every night with a book in her hands and her glasses perched on her pointed nose.

The woman gave a soft sigh, leaning against a tree as she thought. What had happened? What had she done to drive Elphaba away from her? _You know exactly what you did,_ her conscious snapped at her. Her blue eyes widened as she shook her head. No; there would be none of that. There was no point in her remembering the things that happened long ago. There was nothing left for her to remember, there was nothing that was worth the effort anyway. She stood, brushing off her dress with a severe frown as she looked at it. She was Lady Glinda Chuffrey, the person that she had always dreamed of becoming. Yet why did the title spike such anger and anxiety within her?

_Because you don't want it_, answered her conscious. In all honesty, Glinda was getting quite fed up with the constant nagging resonating from her mind. She had thought it silent until the voice came again. _You don't want it at the expense of the Witch._ This time, she couldn't deny its truth.

* * *

"I told you that she was _never _to come here, Fiyero." The man turned to come face to face with the vicious eyes of his wife.

Struggling to explain himself, Fiyero moved towards the other side of the table so that the piece of oak furniture was dividing them. "Fae, you're so lonely. You could always use some company." He muttered, gulping.

Elphaba snorted in outrage and disbelief. "We are _fugitives_, you nitwit! Do you understand what that means?"

"Elphaba, yes, I-"

"Clearly you don't! What if that lard husband of Glinda's had sent guards to follow her? What then!" Elphaba had had enough of her dim-witted husband and she stormed into the bedroom. She threw open the doors of the closet and tossed things out, cluttering the floor until she spotted the chestnut coloring of her broomstick. The Witch gave it a pull and she tumbled backwards, cursing Fiyero for hiding it from her.

"Fae, I'm not going to let you leave," Fiyero stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, barricading the door.

"You act like you can stop me," Elphaba's slender eyebrows arched, taunting him silently.

"You act like I can't."

"Touché."

They stood there for a while, at a stalemate. Elphaba, on one hand, knew that she could burst Fiyero out of the doorway with a quick flick of her wrist. On the other hand, she knew that she was angry. If she attempted a spell, she knew that she had a seventy-five percent chance of killing him accidentally.

"Mommy!" Liir came running into the room after sliding in between Fiyero's legs. He wrapped his arms around Elphaba's ankles. "Where did the nice lady go?" He questioned, seemingly ignoring Elphaba's twitch of disgust at his touch.

"She went back home, Liir," Elphaba answered, trying to sound maternal but not being able to find it within her to do so.

"Come now, Liir. It's time for bed," Fiyero picked up his son and spared one last glance at his wife. "Elphaba, leave if you have to. Just don't come back here once they know you're alive. I won't allow you to put my son in that sort of danger."

Elphaba scoffed, brushing off the dust on the shaft of the broom before forcing the brim of her pointed hat on her head. "Your son. Damn right, he is, Fiyero." She murmured, not wanting anything to do with those two any longer. She didn't know if it was the anger that caused her to feel this way or the fact that Fiyero was not the man that she wanted and Liir was not the cause of her own desire.

The Witch silently closed the front door behind her, taking a panoramic glance at her surroundings. Hearing and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she slung one leg over the broomstick and flew away, staying close to the ground for fear of being spotted from the sky. Yet, as she flew, a figure caught her eye and she stepped behind a tree to see Glinda curled up at the trunk of a pine tree, quietly sobbing in the pure white snow. Elphaba could feel what was left of her heart shatter. She quietly tip-toed her way to the woman and squatted down next to her, taking her hand.

Glinda was startled and she jumped back, accidentally hitting her head on the tree behind her. "Who's there?" She questioned nervously as she rubbed the raw spot on the back of her head.

"It's me, blondie," Elphaba whispered. The air between them was silent until Glinda lurched forward and wrapped her arms around the green woman's neck, burrowing her face into her chest for warmth and protection. "What are you doing out here? It's snowing, Glin. You must be freezing."

"I don't want to go back there, Elphie. Don't make me go back to him." The Witch's expression softened at the fear and desperation in the blonde's voice.

"You have to go back, Glin. You'll catch a cold out here," argued Elphaba, although she was greatly troubled by the tone of Glinda's voice.

"I don't want to go back to Chuffrey, Elphie. He- He'll hurt me again," Glinda's voice was muffled by Elphaba's dress but her words rang clear.

The Witch could swear that she had never been so angry in her life. First, Glinda had to go through the pain of an arranged marriage and now this? There was nothing more for her to say so she sat there, just rubbing Glinda's back for comfort and protection from her husband and the killing cold.

"I'm tired, Elphie. I haven't slept in days," Glinda told her friend, resting her head on the bony shoulder in front of her.

"Then sleep, my sweet," murmured Elphaba, kissing the top of her head softly. "I will protect you."

"My Elphie," mused Glinda as her eyes shut, making Elphaba blush at the nickname. "My guardian angel."


	4. Chapter 4

"Wake up; we're here," Elphaba unceremoniously dropped Glinda into the icy snow, seemingly choosing to ignore her screeches of anger and surprise.

"Elphaba Thropp, what in Oz-"

"Shut up, you dim-witted twat. You'll attract someone's attention," The Witch retorted, not missing a beat.

Glinda stood with a huff, shaking her dyed curls and brushing the excess snow off her outlandish dress. "Next time that you come to see me, wear something more sensible, please." Elphaba pleaded her, grasping her elbow before gently pushing her towards the back door of the house.

"Goodnight, my dear," The Witch bowed slightly and tipped her hat, making Glinda blush and giggle like she had done so many times in her near-sighted youth.

"Goodnight, Elphie," Glinda, mustering up all of her courage, ran after the green woman and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Thank you for bringing me home." Well, she wasn't exactly grateful to be home with Chuffrey, but being carried by Elphaba is worth whatever beating she was sure to get in the coming hours.

The kiss stunned Elphaba and she stood in the snow, her face clearly showing the shock that she was feeling. "Yes, well…. Yes, goodnight, Glinda." She managed to stutter out a goodbye before turning and diving back into the shadows of the night, cursing herself for saying goodnight twice.

Glinda stopped to stare at the place where Elphaba had just stood, desperately wishing that she could climb onto that broom as well and just run – well, fly- away with the Witch. She shook her full head of curls and hoisted her skirts to clear the puddle of melted snow that lay in front of the door.

"Puggles, remind Chuffrey that he has a meeting with the Arjiki tribe tomorrow," Glinda ordered the man as he removed her coat and placed it on the balustrade.

"Lady Glinda, Sir Chuffrey isn't at home. He requested that I tell you that he was on a business trip and will not be back until noon tomorrow," Puggles answered, his hands clasped behind his back formally.

"A business trip," Glinda snorted under her breath in disbelief. These "business trips" always involved a couple of beers and some very scantily-clad women. "Thank you, Puggles. Tell Cook that I'll receive my evening tea in an hour or two."

"Yes, Lady Glinda," Puggles bowed again (a gesture that Glinda had tried many times to discourage). Glinda gave him a slight smile before mounting the steps and shutting the oak door behind her after reaching her chambers.

"Rough day?"

A deep voice startled her and she jumped in fright. "Jasper, Oz- How in the world did you get in here?" She asked him, placing a hand over her heart as she attempted to regain her frazzled senses.

The man, named Jasper, nodded towards the open window. "Through the window, it wasn't hard." He answered, smirking at her.

"Your entrance isn't the only thing that's hard," Glinda sighed, looking him up and down as he laughed.

"It certainly isn't the only thing," Jasper added, getting up from his perch on the bed to take her hand and pull her against him.

"Jasper, the door isn't-" He cut her off with a passionate and fiery kiss. Glinda, quite irritated with his rash behavior, broke the kiss, slammed the door shut, and promptly locked it.

"Feel better now?" Jasper questioned, mocking her as he was rather embarrassed at being rejected.

"Much better," Glinda wrapped her small arms around his neck and pulled him down to her level, kissing him fiercely.

Jasper cradled her head in his hands, but his grip tightened considerably.

"Jazz, please, you're hurting me!" Glinda protested, trying to pull away from him.

"There's something going on out there," He told her, letting go of her skull before striding over to the window to observe the forest.

Glinda sighed. There were so many people in this house to notice them and Jasper was trying to get her outside just so they could be alone. This she knew. Nonetheless, she followed him back into the snow and deeper into the forest that surrounded Mockbeggar Hall.

Glinda turned slightly, afraid of the darkness that engulfed them. To be quite honest, she didn't feel as safe around Jasper as she did when she was with Elphie. When she turned back, Jasper was on the ground unconscious.

"He was following you."  
Speak of the devil.

"Elphie, he's – he…." Glinda trailed off, twiddling her fingers.

"Oh, this one's your lover?" Glinda would have thought that Elphaba would be mad, but the green woman seemed amused at most.

Glinda nodded, "It hardly seems your business." She snapped, not meaning for it to come off so rude. "And besides, shouldn't you be at home? You're not safe out here and you know it."

Elphaba shrugged, her pointed face twisting into a sly expression. "I've always been reckless, Glinda. Especially when it comes to you."

Glinda couldn't help but blush. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked her, seeming to finally notice Jasper's body. "You had to knock him out, didn't you?" She sighed in disappointment.

"I thought he was going to hurt you," Elphaba answered simply, her eyes filled with, in Glinda's mind, caring and maybe, love.

"I can take care of myself, Elphaba," Glinda retorted, hating the feeling that she had when she stood next to the Witch. The feeling of being inferior.

"Clearly," scoffed Elphaba, laughing slightly.

"Why did you come back here?" Glinda's question caught the green woman slightly off guard.

"You said that Chuffrey was going to hurt you and that he does hurt you. I was going to make sure that something like that never happens again," The honesty in Elphaba's tone of voice nearly brought tears to Glinda's eyes.

There was now a tangible silence between the two women until Glinda confidently broke the barrier between them. Without a sign or any warning, the blonde gently placed her hands on Elphaba's cheeks and pressed her lips to hers, catching the green woman by total surprise. But Elphaba wasn't one to complain. She wrapped her arms around Glinda's small waist and kissed her harder. The kiss was an experience that neither woman had felt since Shiz University. Jasper and Chuffrey couldn't equal the passion that Elphaba kissed her with and Fiyero couldn't equal the love that Glinda kissed her with.

"I love you, Elphaba," Glinda was finally ready to admit it, after all these years.

Elphaba didn't answer for quite some time, and that worried Glinda to no end. "Yes, dear, that's very nice, but I can't love you."


End file.
